Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Home to 3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Shelbyville gives you more for your money than most places: homes are within reach, about $152K for a typical one, or 2.1 years of the county’s $72K median household income. It grades A− overall, 235th of 767 graded towns in Illinois. On the plus side, its public schools beat 83% of Illinois towns on state tests and graduation. History is its standout character grade: an A+, better than 98% of U.S. towns, with 3 places on the National Register. Shelbyville’s average trip to work is 10 minutes, below both the Illinois town median (26 minutes) and the median of U.S. towns (25 minutes). Only 15 of Illinois’ 1,285 towns score higher on history. Shelbyville is more walkable than 87% of U.S. towns.
Where Shelbyville beats most towns.
12.4% of the town is conserved land, across 4 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Illinois), ordered by how far Shelbyville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 385 in 1850, 4,674 in 2020. The archive holds 13 old photos and papers going back to 1869 and 3 maps from 1942 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Shelbyville, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Shelbyville.
Shelbyville pairs an A− overall with homes cheaper than the Illinois norm, is healthier than towns with similar incomes and has commutes shorter than most of Illinois.
6.9 miles of trail in 4 parks and preserves. The trail density in Shelbyville is 1.6 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Forest Park, 175 acres with 3.6 miles of trail.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forest Park | 3.6 mi | 175 |
| 2. Shelbyville Dam West Access Area | 1.4 mi | 98 |
| 3. Shelbyville Dam East Access Area | 1.2 mi | 70 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Shelbyville grades A− overall with a typical home of about $152K, below the Illinois typical value; only 48 of the 183 Illinois towns graded A− or better can say that. Homes are within reach (about $152K for the typical one, A− for cost of living), but half of working residents commute more than 24 miles.
Shelbyville’s median rent is $767 a month. The typical Shelbyville home is worth about $152,000, up 3.6% in a year, 48% below the Illinois typical home. 59% of Shelbyville households own their home.
| Shelbyville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 59% | 75% | 73% |
| Median rent | $767 a month | $1,129 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Shelbyville has chilly winters and warm summers. July afternoons reach 87°, January nights drop to 21° and about 14 inches of snow falls in a winter.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
The average commute for its 1,971 working residents takes 10.3 minutes, against 27.8 across Illinois.
About one in 3 of Shelbyville’s working residents works in town. 13% of residents live below the poverty line in Shelbyville. Since 2013, Shelbyville has lost 401 jobs, to 2,629 in 2023.
| Shelbyville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Working residents who work in town | 34% | 8.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $52,000 | $83,000 | $80,000 |
| Below the poverty line | 13% | 8.4% | 9.6% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Against the 6,627 U.S. towns with household incomes like Shelbyville’s, it is healthier than 72%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Shelbyville beats the Illinois average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9.
| Shelbyville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 39% | 35% | 35% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 15% | 13% | 14% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 13% | 11% | 12% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 13% | 14% |
| What stands out | Shelbyville | IL |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 10.6% | 13.2% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 79.3% | 75.7% |
| More adults with COPD | 9.4% | 6.3% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Shelbyville's reported crime rate is well below Illinois's. 4 violent crimes were reported in 2024.
| Shelbyville | Illinois towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 2 per 1,000 residents | 9.4 | 11.5 |
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2024) | 0.9 per 1,000 residents | 1.2 | 1.7 |
FBI crime data, 2024 · crimes reported to police
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 50% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
None within 15 miles of Shelbyville; the nearest are
About 2 of every 100 Shelbyville residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Illinois.
3 places in Shelbyville on the National Register of Historic Places.
4 notable people were born in Shelbyville.
City in Illinois, United States
Shelbyville is a city in and the county seat of Shelby County, Illinois, United States, along the Kaskaskia River. As of the 2020 census, the population was at 4,674. HSHS Good Shepherd Hospital, located in town, is the county's only hospital. Shelbyville is also home to Chautauqua Auditorium.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Shelbyville.
| Town | IL rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shelbyville · Shelbyville Township | #235 | A− | A− | — | A− | C+ |
| Okaw Township | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Shelbyville reports no FBI crime data of its own. Okaw Township isn’t graded (fewer than 1,000 residents, or not enough data). Shelbyville Township and Shelbyville are one community, graded once. Compare Shelbyville with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
By most measures, yes. Shelbyville grades A− overall, better than 80% of U.S. towns and #235 of 767 in Illinois. It grades C+ for health and A− for schools.
Not for the area. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades A−.
4 notable people were born here, including Jesse M. Donaldson and Homer W. Hall.
